All will be alright
by findmyway
Summary: While living out on the streets, Phoebe Buffay gets a special connection with a certain helpful stranger.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This writer is most certainly not the owner of Friends.**

Phoebe Buffay sighed loudly in annoyance. She had been playing the guitar for five hours straight outside this dumb coffeehouse, her fingers were in fact numb from all the strumming, yet she had gotten nothing in return to match her efforts. " Not even a lousy dollar," she said to herself out loud, as she counted the feeble amount of quarters and dimes currently strewn about in her guitar case. " Oh, oh a condom, well that's just great. They can't hand me a dollar, but they see nothing in dropping random contraceptives in here," she muttered, recovering the foil and disapprovingly holding it between her thumb and index finger.

" Hey, I could use a condom," came a sudden voice from above. Phoebe quickly looked up, only to come face to face with a really rather good-looking, young man, who was dressed to the nines. She didn't trust him at first, this due to her mom once telling her to never trust a man in a fancy suit. But then again, her mom had told her more things, that hadn't turned out to be true. Like that time, when she'd promised her and Ursula that she'd always be there looking out for them and then, she'd killed herself the very next day.

" I mean… if you don't want it… I uh…" he paused, then motioned for her to come closer. When she reluctantly did so, he whispered: " I have this date and I'm thinking there's a pretty good chance I'm gonna get lucky tonight, so if you wouldn't mind, you know…"

Phoebe gave a slight shrug, then said: " Sure, take it, it's yours," as she handed him the package.

" Oh my god, your hands… they're, they're so cold," he then remarked in a bit of a shock, when her slender fingers brushed against his.

" Well, that's kinda what you get, if you're out on the street all day," the blonde retorted sharply, right before attempting to retract her hand from this stranger. She didn't feel comfortable with people getting this close to her, touching her even. Everyone's usual reaction was to either ignore her or send her an intense glare of disgust.

The man didn't seem to want to back down however, as he only tightened his grip on her hand.

" Oh, I'm so sorry, I hadn't really thought about the fact that you could possibly be homeless," he then brought out sympathetically, concern shining in his deep chocolate brown eyes.

" Please let go of me," Phoebe begged quietly.

" No! No, I want to keep you warm, here," he proclaimed strongly, while he hurriedly began rubbing the palms of his hands over her knuckles.

" There, doesn't that feel better already?"

" Well… yeah, actually it does, Mr…" she threw back, displaying a slight smile, at the sudden warmth she felt rushing through her digits.

" Oh, uh… Tribbiani, Joey Tribbiani. And you don't have to call me Mr.! Heck, I think we're about the same age, from looking at you. What's your name, by the way?"

" Phoebe, Phoebe Buffay."

Joey threw her a disarming smile, which she had to admit was actually quite sexy, then suggested: " Well, Phoebe, Phoebe Buffay, can I by any chance interest you in a pair of these warm leather gloves?"

" What leather gloves?" the blonde asked in confusion, failing to spot any signs of said garments.

" Oh, shoot! I thought I was wearing them, oh man! I'm sorry, I can go buy you another pair, if you want! Oh, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed apologetically. His whole panicky demeanor causing her to let out a brief chuckle. Maybe this guy… this Joey, wasn't such a bad seed after all. If anything, he certainly wasn't bad looking.

" Hey, relax, will you? I don't mind and you don't have to buy them for me. I've gone without them for quite a while now, I'll survive."

" No, no, I insist. I want to help you. As the matter of fact, I'm going out to buy you some, right now. I… uh… I won't be long. I'll just have to call my friend, to ask him where that clothes shop is again, seeing as I don't really… you know, remember."

Joey then promptly took out his phone and Phoebe heard him talking to a certain Chandler for a while.

" Okay, I know where it is, I'll be back in no time, I promise. it's only a couple o' blocks away from here. In the meantime, take care, okay?" the young man stated, while placing a gentle hand on her admittedly ragged and filthy coat, sending a new very welcomed rush of warmth to her shivering body.

Then, the blonde suddenly remembered something, as she asked: " Hey… wait a minute. Didn't you have a date?"

" Oh, oh yeah, that's right. Well, she can wait you know, I.. I need to see to it that you're feeling better first."

" Oh… thanks, that's so sweet of you," Phoebe beamed, suddenly liking this man a whole lot more. He must really be concerned about her wellbeing, if he was just gonna ditch his date in order to get her some stupid mittens.

" Hey, it's nothing, don't worry about it. I just wouldn't want a pretty girl like you to freeze to death. That would be a damn shame, you know… since you're like very pretty," Joey retorted, sending her another one of his charming smiles, effectively causing her to blush.

" Thank you, you're not so bad yourself," she brought out quickly, then inwardly scolded herself for going along with his antics that easily. For all she knew, he could still only be out to take advantage of her. She couldn't even begin to start counting the amount of men, who had mistaken her for a prostitute and had sent her leering looks, before they'd started throwing themselves at her. Then again, she couldn't really picture the guy in front of her doing such a thing. There was a certain streak of innocence to him, that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He just looked so cute, boyish even.

" Thanks, now, I'll be on my way, see you soon," Joey then announced, right before waving at her, turning around and running in the general direction of the subway.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Before the new chapter, just one little thing: I heartily thank the people who reviewed and favorited this ****. Each comment is precious to me, just so you know. Anyway, what's gonna happen next? Hmm, let's find out: shall we:**

It wasn't until much later, when Phoebe was lying in a huddled mass, half asleep on the cold concrete in front of the coffee house, that she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Upon feeling the foreign touch, she instinctively grabbed a hold of her guitar and moved it in front of her, in an attempt to defend herself.

" Leave me alone!" she bellowed, as she subsequently reached up, injuring the figure hovering above her, with her most trusted possession.

" Ouch, what'd you do that for?!" came the indignant, high-pitched reply.

" J… Joey? Is that you?" she asked groggily, when she'd opened her eyes a little wider.

" Yeah!" the man in question retorted, now bending over to clutch at very specific parts of his anatomy.

" Oh, I'm sorry, are you hurt?" the blonde asked, as she quickly hoisted herself up, to get a better look at the damage she'd done, this really being rather difficult, as it was slightly dark already.

" Of course I'm hurt, you hit me right in the Mr.'s, woman! What is wrong with you?!" Joey brought out, his face still contorted in pain.

" I… I'm very sorry, I… I thought you were out to hurt me or steal my money... I'm always on my guard, you know, especially when it gets dark. Is there anything I can do for you?"

" Not really, damn it, it really hurts, Phoebe. Couldn't you have hit me anywhere else?"

" Well, I already said I was sorry, but I wasn't really expecting you at this hour. You told me earlier that you'd be back soon and since then, several hours have passed."

" Yeah, I know, I kinda got distracted. There was an all-you-can-eat- buffet at the steak house," the young man yelped, while slowly straightening himself back up.

" Oh, you really seem to be in pain, here sit down, for a minute. I managed to steal this from the park earlier," Phoebe offered, leading him over to sit down on a checkered picnic blanket.

" Th… thanks, oh man, I'm afraid this is gonna take a while to recover from. You mind if I stay here with you for a bit?"

" No, no not at all," the blonde retorted, suddenly beaming at him. She was actually really looking forward to the prospect of not being alone for a change.

" Why are you standing there all weird? Come and sit next to me," Joey urged after a long time, patting the spot beside him.

" No, I won't," she retorted shyly.

" What? Why not?"

" Because you wouldn't want to sit next to someone like me," she muttered, bowing her head down, a tear suddenly shining in her eye, as she remembered just how revolting she must seem to him.

" Yes, I would! What are you saying?!"

" Oh come on, Joey, look at me: I'm poor and dirty, I'm thin, I smell and I wear old, tattered clothes! No one in their right mind, would want to touch me or get too close!" she went on, crying softly.

" I would," he then whispered sincerely, rising back up to place a gentle hand on her back.

" Joey…" she protested, while attempting to get away from him, still feeling awkward at the amount of affection this man she'd only just met seemed to be showering her with.

" No, Phoebe, you listen to me, okay?" First of all: you do not smell in the slightest and second of all: those other things aren't your fault, cause they're the direct result of the conditions you live in. And me… well I would still be touching you if you were covered in a layer of mud. You are a person, okay?! And you deserve to be treated like a person! Now, I may have borrowed some lines I just said from a recently horribly failed TV-show I was in, but I mean it when I say that you are worth the attention. Do you think I groom myself that well? Here, take a look," he explained passionately, right before ripping of his suede black, double-breasted jacket, to reveal a huge ink-blot on his white shirt.

Phoebe shook her head, then allowed a small smile to grace her lips. This guy certainly was one of a kind. She briefly wondered if he wouldn't be cold, but then she was pulled from her musings, when he spoke again, his voice sounding intense and soothing, both at the same time.

" Oh, and there's more, hang on. See these pants? You probably think they're really classy and everything, but watch," he went on as he pulled at one of the pockets, to reveal a large hole in the bottom.

" Joey…" she began, no longer able to repress a chuckle.

" No, Phoebe: I really want you to know that you are no different from me, when it comes to looks or dignity. You shine too, in your own special way. You know what I thought when I first saw you earlier?"

The blonde shook her head once more, prompting her newly gained acquaintance to bring out the following: " I thought: man, that girl is so hot and she has a guitar, so she must be talented too."

" You… you really mean that?" she inquired, she'd been quite touched by all of his remarks, but this one really got to her for some reason.

" Of course, now…," Joey began quietly, while stepping towards her and slowly removing her jacket. " you'll have this," he went on, as he placed his own coat over her shoulders.

" And me… I'll take this one," he mumbled, while he started to put on Phoebe's.

" And you know what? Keep it! I don't want that darn jacket anymore, not when it prevents you from sitting next to me. Now, will you please please join me on that blanket? I really want to spend some time with you," Joey asked sweetly, grabbing a soft hold of her hand and gazing at her with an irresistible puppy dog-pout, his brown orbs so innocent and wide. She then let out another chortle.

" What, what's funny?" he asked, with a hint of a smile himself. He enjoyed the fact that he just may have been the cause of this woman's wonderful laughter, that still rung through his ears.

" You are, now come on, let's go sit," she threw back playfully, leading him back over to the plaid.

And that was that, as they both flopped down, side by side talking as if they had known each other for years. Both gaining a lot from the new-found pastime: Phoebe really enjoyed the comfort of finally having deep conversations with someone again, after what seemed like years, while Joey felt happy over making such a new, fascinating friend, who was admittedly a bit weird, but still so much fun to be around.

"… and that's why my mom killed herself," Phoebe finished her umpteenth story of the night. Even if she hadn't known Joey for that long, she already felt a connection to him, that she had never experienced with anyone else.

" Wow, that's pretty intense, I'm so sorry about that," he comforted her, as he soothingly rubbed her shoulder.

" Oh… it's alright. I got over it just fine," the blonde retorted casually, while absentmindedly picking at the strings of her guitar.

" Hey, can I ask you something?"

" Yeah, sure, anything."

" Could you… like play something on that for me? I'd love to hear you play."

Phoebe beamed at him, then replied: " Sure, you know, last week I came up with this song," she began, then started strumming and singing along to the tune of " Smelly cat"

" Wow, that's so awesome! You got all that from seeing a stray go through the garbage?"

" Yeah, pretty much," she explained, quite proud of her own creation herself.

" Hey, Phoebe?"

" Yeah, what's up?"

" Could you like… I don't know, teach me how to do that? It just sounds so amazing, you know," Joey inquired carefully.

" Hmm… that depends, do you know any chords?"

He frowned, then got a confused look on his face, as he inquired: " No, never heard of 'em before, is that like a different word for strings?"

Phoebe giggled, quite amused by the utterly bedazzled look on his face, then explained: " No silly, chords are combinations you play, by placing your fingers in a certain way: here look, this is what I'd like to call: ' old lady'

" Hmm, I could do an old lady," he muttered, then concentrated really hard on curling his fingers in the way his new friend had demonstrated, sticking out the tip of his tongue in the process.

" What's funny? You're not laughing at me, are ya?" the actor asked, when he saw the blonde doubling over again.

" No, no, you're doing fine, chord-wise. It's just the fact that you said: you could do an old lady."

" Yeah…" he began, not really getting exactly why that was funny at first.

" Oh, oh right, haha, yeah, oh my god. I can't believe I said that," he subsequently muttered, as he face palmed.

Just then, there was the sound of a loud crack.

" Joey, Joey, watch out!"

**A/N: Ooh cliffhanger, I just love those babies. Don't worry though: all will be revealed in the next chapter. **


	3. Chapter 3

" _Joey, Joey, watch out!" _Phoebe's voice still rang through Joey's ears, as he slowly lifted his head to see what all the racket was about.

" Oh my god!" he yelled, when he saw one of the coffeehouse's roof tiles sizzling through the air, the most alarming thing being, that it was headed straight for his head. He swiftly closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow. It never arrived though, as in the next minute, Phoebe threw herself on top of him and pushed him out of the way. He finally opened up his eyes again, just in time to see the dangerous piece of masonry crash onto the concrete at his feet, with a loud thud.

" Oh, dear god, are you okay?" his newly gained-friend asked him, after she'd slowly lifted her head up from his chest, concern shining in her bright, wide eyes.

" Uh… yeah, yeah, I think so. Boy, that was quite something, huh?"

" Yeah," the blonde retorted quietly, still in a bit of a shock from witnessing such a life-threatening event take place.

Just then, Joey remembered something, as he asked:" Phoebe?"

" Yeah, uhu, what?"

" Are YOU okay?" he whispered, as he slowly hoisted her up to take a proper look at her, his hands cupping her face in an urgent frenzy.

" Yeah, I'm fine, a bit shaken up, but physically I'm unharmed."

The actor breathed a sigh of relief, then stated: " Thank god, I'd never forgive myself if you would've gotten hurt because of me. I mean: you saved my life for crying out loud. Thanks… by the way."

" Oh, it was nothing, I tend to do that," Phoebe waved it away, as if what she'd just done was the most natural thing in the world.

" What? Saving lives?"

" Yeah! I mean there was this one time, when I had to pull the albino guy I was living with, out of a burning car… but yeah anyway, you're welcome."

" Sure," Joey said, then let out a soft chuckle.

" What?" the blonde asked, bemused.

" Oh nothin', just that you're this frail, thin little thing and you saved my ass. I mean, if anything: I should have protected you, you know."

" Who are you calling frail?! I can always use this on you again, you do realize that, don't you?!" Phoebe threatened, holding out her guitar.

" Hey, hey, no need for that, all I'm saying is…" whatever he was going to say next, was lost forever, as in the next moment, a sudden voice from further up interrupted him.

" Oh my god, what happened here?! Are you people alright?!"

" Who… was that you?" the actor inquired, as he turned his head this way and that in confusion.

" No!" Phoebe shouted, right before she pointed a finger in the direction of the curb behind him.

" Oh… hey Rach," Joey smiled, upon finally recognizing the concerned woman as one of his closest friends.

" Joey?! Is that you? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at your audition?"

" Oh man," the actor muttered, while face-palming.

" I completely forgot about that, but hey: I made a new friend: Rachel meet Phoebe Buffay and Phoebe: this is Rachel Green."

" Hi, nice to meet you, so you one of Joey's special friends?" Rachel inquired, with a little glint in her eye. She knew Joey well enough by now, to know that if he had a girl with him in the evening, he was probably gonna be having some fun with her later on.

" Uhm… okay, if you are suggesting that I'm a hooker, you are dead wrong, missy!" Phoebe defended herself boldly, not liking the tone of this Rachel's voice at all.

" Phoebe…"

" No Joey, I mean: just because I'm out on the streets at night, doesn't mean that I'm some, cheap whore! I might be poor, but I am still a woman with principles!" the feisty blonde roared, as she rose up to stare Rachel right in the eye, this being somewhat difficult, as it was already extremely dark.

" Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just… Joey doesn't really have that much female friends, well except for me and Monica of course. She's my…"

" Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'm really not interested in your lame life story, so if you don't mind. Joey and I were talking," Phoebe waved her away, with a quick gesture of the hand.

" I beg your pardon?! Joey, say something!"

" Like what?"

" You tell her she can't just talk to me like that! I mean, she's only just met me for god's sake!"

" Uhm… Phoebe, you can't talk to Rachel like that," Joey attempted weakly.

" I can talk to her in whichever way I please, your little friend here insulted me!"

" Hey, I did my best," the actor stated with a sheepish grin, when he noticed the icy glower one of his closest friends bestowed upon him, even in the dark.

" Come on, you," Rachel huffed, as she pulled him to his feet and into a small alley.

" Okay, what is up with you? Just randomly befriending the homeless… And why are you wearing that?"

" Oh, this jacket belongs to her, I gave her mine, to make her more comfortable. At first, she didn't even want to sit with me. " And, hey: this may be hard for you to believe right now, but she's this really cool chick. Oh and plus: she is so hot," the actor explained, while slyly winking at his friend.

" That's probably why you went up to her in the first place, isn't it? Because she caught your eye? Look, Joey, this isn't some romance novel, this is real life. For all you know, she can be really dangerous. We don't know anything about this girl. She might even be a mugger," Rachel hissed, as she bent her head closer to his, in an attempt to keep Phoebe from hearing the critique.

" Yes, I did it," she suddenly heard a voice call out behind her. She turned around, only to be faced with the very woman who had pushed her buttons, not too long ago.

" Did what?"

" I just mugged you," Phoebe declared calmly.

" You what… that can't be!" Rachel cried, as she agitatedly started going through her designer purse, in hopes of retrieving her wallet.

" Looking for something?" she asked defiantly, holding up the other woman's wallet and waving it about in the air.

" I… you, how did you do that?!"

Phoebe just shrugged" A true pro never gives her secrets away, but it was fairly easy. You really shouldn't leave your zipper open that wide, Rachel Green."

" Can I… can I get it back?" Rachel inquired, suddenly a lot more timid. She really didn't want to be on bad terms, with someone who had mastered the art of stealing money.

" Yeah, sure, on one condition though."

" And what may that be?"

" You have to apologize."

" Alright fine: I apologize, okay. Now can I please, pretty please have my wallet back?" Rachel caved.

" There you go. Wow, you sure give in easy. You must be very spoiled, " Phoebe said, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

" No!" the other woman threw back, causing Joey to snigger.

" Oh… okay, I might just be a little bit spoiled, nothing wrong with that, is there?"

" Eh, depends on who you're talking to. I for one…" Phoebe never got the chance to finish her sentence, as in the next minute, there appeared yet another person, who wanted to have his say.

" Hey, so what are we all doing out here?"


End file.
